​By R. Herbert, Tactical Belief Books, 2017 ISBN 978-1-64007-969-4​Our latest e-Book is for new Christians and established believers alike. It takes a fresh look at what the Bible really says about prayer – about how we should pray and what we should pray. Some of the answers might surprise you, but this is a book that may transform your prayer life. It will certainly enable you to enhance your prayer starting immediately – by showing you how to more fully and effectively use the direct line that you have been given.

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“… the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people …” (1 Samuel 13:14).This is a verse that often comes to mind when we think about the character of David, king of ancient Israel, writer of so many of the Bible’s psalms, and ancestor of Jesus Christ himself. Yet the expression “a man after [God’s] own heart” probably does not mean what we often think it means at all.

Many of us have speculated on the expression and wondered – why would David be described as a man after God’s own heart – something not said of other great biblical figures? What earned David that description? Was it his total commitment to God or some other aspect of his character?

It is actually likely that no aspect of David’s character is in mind, and that it is God who is the focus of this verse. The expression “the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart” reflects a standard ancient Near Eastern manner of expressing someone’s desires and wishes – things they wanted “in their own heart.” Ancient Babylonian texts use the same expression of a god or a king installing a ruler of their choice. In fact, the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle (c. 599 BC) of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II tells how that king conquered Jerusalem and replaced the Jewish king Jeconiah with a king of his own choice – Zedekiah – exactly as recorded in the Bible (2 Kings 24:17).

In both the Bible and the texts of the nations that surrounded ancient Israel, the expression simply means that the new king would be to the liking of the one installing him. It is also paralleled by the biblical description of God’s replacement of the High Priest Eli with Samuel: “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always” (1 Samuel 2:35).

So the expression “a man after his own heart” used of David in 1 Samuel 13:14 is not saying that David’s “heart” or attitude was somehow like that of God, that he was a man of extraordinary righteousness or moral excellence, but that God had chosen someone according to his own heart or wishes – someone he felt he could trust to be obedient and to do the work he was given to do.

That is why in the New Testament in Paul’s speech at Antioch, the apostle said: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22). It is not that God had found David to be “like his own heart,” but that he had chosen a man according to his own wishes.

Finally, the Bible’s chronological notations show that although David was about twenty-three years old when he became king, he was only a very young child when Saul was told that God had selected someone “after his own heart.” David had not yet had time to demonstrate his character in order to qualify as someone with traits like those of God. Rather, 1 Samuel 13:14 means that God was intent on installing a king according to his own standards rather than according to the desires of the Israelites who had clamored for a king just like those of the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:5). A man of powerful presence, yet with pride and many other failings, Saul was exactly the type of leader Israel’s neighbors had. ​ God then chose not a typical leader, as Saul had been, but someone of his own choosing who would be a better ruler. The Old Testament shows that many aspects of David’s character were indeed admirable and that he did rule over Israel wisely and well, but the verse we have examined does not address that fact. It simply shows that God chose David, not why David was chosen. ​​​​

When we think of prayer, many of our ideas may be more cultural than biblical. For example, different cultures hold their hands in different ways in prayer. But the examples of prayer we find in the Bible rarely speak of how the hands are held –and when they do it is usually to say that the praying person's hands were outstretched to the heavens rather than in the manner with which most of us are familiar. How we extend our hearts in prayer is clearly more important than how we hold our hands.

In the same way, when we think of prayer we may think of closing our eyes, but this is not necessary or biblical. We can certainly pray with our eyes closed just as well as with them open, but the reverse is also just as true. In some parts of the world, where Christianity is outlawed and punishable by severe penalties, believers routinely pray with their eyes open to avoid unnecessary arrest and punishment.

In fact, praying with open eyes was probably the norm in biblical times. On two occasions when Jesus prayed to the Father, we are told that he looked up to heaven. In the first instance he was giving thanks: “Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me’” (John 11:41), and in the second he was making a request: “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father … Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (John 17:1). Interestingly, the only other time a praying person’s eyes are mentioned in the New Testament is in the story of the repentant tax collector who was so distraught that when he prayed “… He would not even look up to heaven” (Luke 18:13), indicating that looking up to heaven would have been the normal way to pray.

There is a great deal of corroborating evidence to show that prayer in the Bible and in the early Church usually involved praying with open eyes, but acceptable prayer has nothing to do with whether our eyes are open or closed – any more than how we hold our hands. Sometimes we may wish to close our eyes in order to not be distracted by things happening around us, but often we may prefer to keep our eyes open to see that for which we are giving thanks or to feel a closer connection with the One who is "near to all who call on him" (Psalm 145:18).

​​You know the situations. As you walk out of a shopping center you are approached by someone who asks: "Could you spare a few dollars? – I need help.” We have seen the signs many people carry - pulling at heart strings from every possible direction - “Homeless,” “Veteran,” “Injured,” “Hungry,” “Please help – God bless.”

Some of these cases may reflect genuine need, of course, but police officers and social welfare agents know that this is just a business for a good number of people and that they are not destitute at all. You know this, too, but how are we to judge a given case? What is the Christian's right response when asked for help in such circumstances – should you always give? Our article "The Savvy Samaritan" published on this website today provides some answers that may be helpful. You can read the article here.